Psychology matters

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2.1 Motivation and the vision of knowing a second language
Zoltan Dornyei University of Nottingham, UK
'Motivation' is one of the most important concepts in psychology as motivation theo-
ries attempt to explain nothing less than why humans behave and think as they do.
The notion is also of great importance in language education as it is one of the most
common terms teachers and students use to explain what causes success or failure in
learning. Indeed, motivation provides the primary impetus to initiate second/foreign
(L2) learning and later the driving force to sustain the long and often tedious learning
process. Without sufficient motivation, even individuals with the most remarkable
abilities cannot accomplish long-term goals, and neither are appropriate curricula and
good teaching enough on their own to ensure student achievement.
In this paper I describe a new approach to conceptualising motivation that is cen-
tred around the learner's vision; this approach and how it has emerged in L2 motiva-
tion research is described in more detail in a recent anthology (Dornyei and Ushioda
2009; see especially Dornyei 2009). Here I provide a brief overview, focusing mainly
on the practical aspects of the theory. I start with a brief summary of the 'L2 Moti-
vational Self System', which provides the theoretical link between motivation and
vision, within a historical background.

Three phases of L2 motivation research

L2 motivation research has been a thriving area within applied linguistics with several
books and literally hundreds of articles published on the topic during the past four
decades. It is useful to divide this period into three phases:
® The social psychological period (1959-1990), which was characterised by the work of
social psychologist Robert Gardner and his students and associates in Canada (e.g.
Gardner 1985; Gardner and Lambert 1972; Gardner and Maclntyre 1993). The
best-known concepts stemming from this period were integrative and instrumental
orientation/motivation, the former referring to the desire to learn an L2 of a valued
community so that one can communicate with members of the community and
sometimes even become like them, the latter to the concrete benefits that language
proficiency might bring about (e.g. career opportunities, increased salary).
* The cognitive-situated period (during the 1990s), which was characterised by work
that drew on cognitive theories imported from educational psychology, mainly
conducted outside Canada. The best-known concepts associated with this period
were intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, attributions, self-confidence/efficacy and
situation-specific motives related to the learning environment, e.g. motives related
to the L2 course, teachers, peers. (For overviews, see Dornyei 2001 b; Williams and
Burden 1997.)

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 Motivation and the vision of knowing a second language

* New approaches (past decade), which have been characterised by an interest in mo-
tivational change and in the relationship between motivation and identity. The
best-known concepts originating in this period have been the process-oriented
conceptualisation of motivation (Dornyei 2000, 2001b), motivation as investment
(Norton 2000) and the concepts of the ideal and ought-to L2 selves, which will be
described in detail below.

Motivation and the self

In 2005,1 proposed a new approach to the understanding of L2 motivation (Dornyei
2005), conceived within an 'L2 Motivational Self System', which attempts to integrate
a number of influential L2 theories (e.g. by Gardner 2001; Noels 2003; Norton 2001;
Ushioda 2001) with findings of'self research' in psychology. This initiative was rooted
in an important trend in self psychology: over the past two decades self theorists have
become increasingly interested in the active, dynamic nature of the self-system—the
'doing' side of personality—thus placing the self at the heart of motivation and action
(Cantor 1990). This dynamic self concept has created an intriguing interface between
personality and motivational psychology.
Within the dynamic approach of linking the human self with human action, the
notion of 'possible selves' offers one of the most powerful, and at the same time the
most versatile, motivational self-mechanism, representing the individuals' ideas of
what they might become, what they would like to become, and what they are afraid of
becoming (Markus and Nurius 1986). Thus, possible selves involve a person's specific
image of his or her self in future states. It needs to be stressed that possible selves are
more than mere long-term goals or future plans in that they involve tangible images
and senses. Accordingly, imagery is a central element of possible selves theory—if we
have a well-developed possible future self, we can imagine this self in vivid, realistic
situations. A good example of this imagery aspect is how athletes regularly imagine
themselves completing races or stepping onto the winning podium in order to in-
crease their motivation. As Markus and Nurius (1986) emphasise, possible selves are
represented in the same imaginary and semantic way as the here-and-now self, that is,
they are a reality for the individual: people can 'see' and 'hear' a possible self. (See also
Ruvolo and Markus 1992.) Thus, in many ways possible selves are similar to dreams
and visions about oneself.
Ideal selves, ought-to selves and the L2 Motivational Self System
From the point of view of education, one type of possible self, the ideal self appears to
be a particularly useful concept, referring to the representation of the characteristics
that someone would ideally like to possess—i.e. a representation of hopes, aspirations
or wishes. (See Higgins 1987, 1998.) It requires little justification that if someone has
a powerful ideal self—for example a student envisions him/herself as a successful busi-
nessman or scholar—this self image can act as a potent self-guide, with considerable
motivational power. This is expressed in everyday speech when we talk about someone
following or living up to their dreams.
A complementary self-guide that has educational relevance is the ought-to self, re-
ferring to the attributes that one believes one ought to possess—i.e. representation

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 Chapter 2: Psychology matters

of someone's sense of personal or social duties, obligations or responsibilities. (See

Higgins 1987, 1998.) This self-image is particularly salient in some Asian countries
where students are often motivated to perform well to fulfil some family obligation or
to bring honour to the family's name.
Ever since 1 first came across the concept of possible selves, and in particular the
ideal and the ought-to selves, I have been convinced that these concepts would be
highly useful for understanding the motivation to learn a foreign language. Having
considered the theoretical implications of these ideas from an L2 perspective and
having conducted some relevant empirical research, in 2005 1 proposed (Dornyei
2005) a tripartite construct of L2 motivation that was made up of the following three
components:
* Ideal L2 Self which concerns the L2-specific facet of one's ideal self, if the person
we would like to become speaks an L2, the ideal L2 self is a powerful motivator to
learn the L2 because we would like to reduce the discrepancy between our actual
and ideal selves.
m
Ought-to L2 Self which concerns the attributes that one believes one ought to pos-
sess to avoid possible negative outcomes, and which therefore may bear little resem-
blance to the person's own desires or wishes.
a L2 Learning Experience, which concerns situation-specific motives related to the
immediate learning environment and experience (e.g. the positive impact of suc-
cess or the enjoyable quality ot a language course).
(For more details on the evolution of this model, see Dornyei 2009, in press.) Thus,
the L2 Motivational Self System covers the internal desires of the learner, the social
pressures exercised by significant or authoritative people in the learner's environment
and the actual experience of being engaged in the learning process.

Conditions for the motivating capacity of the ideal and ought-to selves
While future self-guides such as the ideal and the oughr-to selves provide incentive,
direction and impetus for action in order to reduce the discrepancy between the de-
sired selves and the actual self, past research has shown that the motivational capacity
of these future self-guides is not automatic but depends on a number of conditions.
Accordingly, the Ideal L2 Self is an effective motivator only if:
* the learner has a desired future self-image;
* which is elaborate and vivid;
* which is perceived 3$ plausible and is in harmony—or at least does not clash—with
the expectations of the learner's family, peers and other elements of the social envi-
ronment;
* which is regularly activated \r\ his/her working self-concept;
* which is accompanied by relevant and effective procedural strategies that act as a
roadmap towards the goal;
* which also contains elaborate information about the negative consequences of not
achieving the desired end-state.

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 Motivation and the vision of knowing a second language

These conditions offer a useful framework tor developing some practical implica-
tions of motivation theory: designing methods and strategies to realise these condi-
tions in the language classroom can form the basis of an effective programme for
introducing a motivational teaching practice.

Generating and enhancing a vision for language learning

Motivational strategies have received attention in applied linguistics for several decades
and a comprehensive collection of practical motivating techniques has been offered
by Dornyei (2001a), covering a wide range of issues from classroom management and
task presentation to student self-motivation. However, the approach discussed below
opens up a whole new avenue for promoting student motivation by means of increas-
ing the elaborateness and vividness of self-relevant imagery in the students. That is,
the approach suggests that an effective way of motivating learners is to create in them
an attractive vision of their ideal language self. This motivational programme consists
of six components, which are described below.
Construction of the Ideal L2 Selfi creating the vision
The (obvious) prerequisite for the motivational capacity of future self-guides is that
they need to exist. Ihcrerore, the first step in a motivational intervention that follows
the self approach is to help learners to construct their Ideal L2 Self—that is, to create
an L2-related vision. The term 'constructing' the Ideal L2 Self is, in fact, not entirely
accurate because it is highly unlikely that any motivational intervention will lead a
student to generate an ideal self out of nothing—the realistic process is more likely
to involve awareness raising about and guided selection from the multiple aspirations,
dreams, desires, etc. that the student has already entertained in the past. Thus, ignit-
ing the vision involves increasing the students' mindfulness about the significance of
the ideal self in general and guiding them through a number of possible selves that
they have entertained in their minds in the past, while also presenting some powerful
role models to illustrate potential future selves.
Imagery enhancement: strengthening the vision
Even if a desited self image exists, it may not have a sufficient degree of elaborateness
and vividness to be an effective motivator. Methods of imagery enhancement have
been explored in several areas of psychological, educational and sport research in the
past, and the techniques of creative or guided imagery c^r\ be utilised to promote ideal
L2 self images and thus to strengthen the students' vision. (For reviews and resources,
see for example, Berkovits 2005; Fezler 1989; Gould et al 2002; Hall et ai 2006;
Horowitz 1983; Leuner et al. 1983; Singer 2006; Taylor et al. 1998}. Undoubtedly,
further research is needed in applied linguistics to review the imagery enhancement
techniques utilised in other fields with regard to their potential applicability to pro-
moting L2 motivation and the vision to master a foreign language. The details of an
effective 'language imagery programme' are still to be worked out, but let there be no
doubt about it: 'Our capacity for imagery and fantasy can indeed give us a kind of
control over possible futures!1 (Singer 2006: 128).

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 Chapter 2: Psychology matters

Making the Ideal L2 Self plausible: substantiating the vision

Possible selves are only effective insomuch as the learner perceives them as possible,
that is, conceivable within the person's particular circumstances. Thus, in order for
ideal self images to energise sustained behaviour, they must be anchored in a sense of
realistic expectations—they need to be substantiated, resulting in the curious mixed
aura of imagination and reality that effective images share. This process requires hon-
est and down-to-earth reality checks as well as considering any potential obstacles
and difficulties that might stand in the way of realising the ideal self. Inviting suc-
cessful role models to class can send the powerful message to students that, although
everybody faces certain hurdles in reaching their ideal selves, it can be, and has been,
done.
Developing an action plan: operationalising the vision
Future self-guides are only effective if they are accompanied by a set of concrete action
plans. Therefore, the ideal self needs to come as part of a 'package' consisting of an
imagery component a.nd& repertoire of appropriate plans, scripts and self-regulatory
strategies. Even the most galvanizing self image might fall flat without ways of opera-
tionalising the vision, that is, without any concrete learning pathways into which to
channel the individual's energy. This is clearly an area where L2 motivation research
and language teaching methodology overlap: an effective action plan will contain a
goal-setting component (which is a motivational issue) as well as individualised study
plans and instructional avenues (which are methodological in nature).
Activating the Ideal L2 Selfi keeping the vision alive
Very little is said in the literature about activating and re-activating the ideal self, but
this is an area where language teachers have, perhaps unknowingly, a great deal of
experience. Classroom activities such as warmers and icebreakers as well as various
communicative tasks can all be turned into effective ways of keeping the vision alive,
and playing films and music, or engaging in cultural activities such as French cheese
parties or 'Cook your wicked western burger' evenings can all serve as potent ideal-self
reminders. Indeed, good teachers in any subject matter seem to have an instinctive
talent to provide an engaging framework that keeps the enthusiasts going and the less-
than-enthusiasts thinking.
Considering failure: counterbalancing the vision
For maximum effectiveness, the desired self should be offset by the feared self, we do
something because we want to do it and also because not doing it would lead to un-
desired results. In language teaching terms this process of counterbalancing the vision
would involve regular reminders of the limitations of not knowing foreign languages
as well as regularly priming the learners1 ought-to L2 self to highlight the duties and
obligations they have committed themselves to.

Conclusion
The L2 Motivational Self System suggests that there are three primary sources of the
motivation to learn a foreign/second language: (a) the learner's vision of him/herself as

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 Motivation and the vision of knowing a second language

an effective L2 speaker, (b) the social pressure coming from the learner's environment,
and (c) positive learning experiences. This paper elaborated on the first of these sourc-
es. 1 firmly believe that it is possible for teachers to consciously generate L2-learning
vision in learners and I would like to encourage colleagues to develop a repertoire of
techniques to ignite and enhance this vision. The six main areas of relevant motiva-
tional strategies presented in this talk are intended to offer a framework for future
language teaching methodological developments along this line. Good luck!
Email: zoltan.dornyei@nottingham.ac.uk

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